News & Events

Check out our photos from the Lower Don Valley

Posted: 08/12/2009

From time to time we collect together and upload a selection of photos we have taken as URSULA researchers that we think are interesting, charismatic, or simply visually attractive. Now the 5th set of photos is out, with the theme of the Lower Don Valley, north-east Sheffield. Traditionally, for much of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries the area has been the centre of much of Sheffield's steel industry, built along the sides of the Don as it flowed out of Sheffield. However in the 70s and 80s, the steel industry began to decline, which led to the closure of many steelworks. Today, the area is a hotchpotch of steelworks, brownfield sites, and modern developments. Meadowhall, a huge shopping centre has replaced the equally large East Hecla Steelworks which was demolished in the early eighties.

At the same time as the decline in the steel industry, the water quality of the river has improved rapidly. The river has gone from being almost lifeless to recovering many fish species, so much so that the river is now popular with anglers. Along the sides of the river a mix of natural and invasive vegetation now grows, forming a lush green corridor through this part of the city. This forms the route of the Five Weirs Walk, river side access that has been created along this length of the river.